Study Desk

Christ ended the law so that everyone who believes in him is made right with God.

If you openly say, "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that God raised him from death, you will be saved.

Yes, we believe in Jesus deep in our hearts, and so we are made right with God. And we openly say that we believe in him, and so we are saved.

Again I ask, "Did the people of Israel not understand?" Yes, they did understand. First, Moses says this for God: "I will use those who are not really a nation to make you jealous. I will use a nation that does not understand to make you angry."

Then Isaiah is bold enough to say this for God: "The people who were not looking for me— they are the ones who found me. I made myself known to those who did not ask for me."

But about the people of Israel God says, "All day long I stood ready to accept those people, but they are stubborn and refuse to obey me."

So I ask, "Did God force his people to leave him?" Of course not. I myself am an Israelite. I am from the family of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.

God chose the Israelites to be his people before they were born. And he did not force them to leave. Surely you know what the Scriptures say about Elijah. The Scriptures tell about Elijah praying to God against the people of Israel. He said,

But what answer did God give to Elijah? God said, "I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have never given worship to Baal."

It is the same now. God has chosen a few people by his grace.

As the Scriptures say, "God caused the people to fall asleep." "God closed their eyes so that they could not see, and he closed their ears so that they could not hear. This continues until now."

Their mistake brought rich blessings to the world. And what they lost brought rich blessings to the non-Jewish people. So surely the world will get much richer blessings when enough Jews become the kind of people God wants.

God turned away from the Jews. When that happened, he became friends with the other people in the world. So when he accepts the Jews, it will be like bringing people to life after death.

If the first piece of bread is offered to God, then the whole loaf is made holy. If the roots of a tree are holy, the tree's branches are holy too.

If God did not let the natural branches of that tree stay, he will not let you stay if you stop believing.

So you see that God is kind, but he can also be very strict. He punishes those who stop following him. But he is kind to you, if you continue trusting in his kindness. If you don't continue depending on him, you will be cut off from the tree.

And if the Jews will believe in God again, he will accept them back. He is able to put them back where they were.

I want you to understand this secret truth, brothers and sisters. This truth will help you understand that you don't know everything. The truth is this: Part of Israel has been made stubborn, but that will change when enough non-Jewish people have come to God.

God never changes his mind about the people he calls. He never decides to take back the blessings he has given them.

At one time you refused to obey God. But now you have received mercy, because the Jews refused to obey.